Internet Business Beginners’ Guide

Day Three

 

Today, you will learn:

• Why do you need your own domain name
• How to choose a good domain name
• What to look for in a web host
• How to write sales copy that is proven to sell

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Why Do You Need Your Own Domain Name

 

The domain name is the address of your web site on the Internet for example http://www.working-at-home-business.com

 

You can't afford not having your own domain name!

 

Never put your business on a free web server with web address like this: www.freespace.com/freemembers/john/mybusiness/

What can you do if this "freespace" company runs out of cash and closes its door? Or it suddenly decides not to provide free services anymore and start charging a ridiculous fee? Even if it asks you politely to move to somewhere else, how can you update all the inbound links you have built over years to your site? - to their site actually.

You will lose almost everything you have developed if anything happens to that free web server: traffic, business address, search engine ranking, inbound links, bookmarks...

Even a slight change at the free server can destroy your business. What if the free space provider decides to change their URL naming structure from /freemember/user to /member/user ?

All your efforts would be gone!

 

Let me tell you, it happened to me before. And I had no place to complain since it was a free service!

 

In addition, did you know that many free web servers are totally blocked out of some major search engines!

By having a domain name you avoid all these risks. You also gain a lot of respect from your visitors and potential customers. Having your own domain name indicates you are a serious Internet player. Would you buy anything from someone who can't afford a domain name?

With a real domain, you are also more likely to get listed and rank higher in Yahoo and other search engines and directories. Forget about getting listed in Yahoo with a Geocities address - even though Yahoo owns Geocities.

Once you register a domain name, it's yours forever as long as you pay the annual fee. That name goes with you - wherever you host it.

 

Unless you expect to do a minimal amount of business on the Internet, you have to get your own domain name!

 

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How To Choose A Domain Name

 

So now you understand the importance of your own domain name, how can you ensure that you pick a good one? Consider these factors:

 

* Good Extension

Dot com is still the best. If you are looking for a site only knowing its name but not its extension, would you try xxx.tv first? Few people will do that. So get a .com if at all possible.

If you can get a short, eye-catching, crispy .net, it could be as good as a .com.

 

You can get .biz, .info, .us, .tv ...if you have a really good reason, say, your site is all about information, then .info is perfectly ok.

 

* Short

 

Short names are easier to remember and have less chance to be miss-typed. So keep it short if possible.

One or two words are wonderful - if you can find it. Unless you are to create something similar to Yahoo, your chances of getting a meaningful, commonly used two word name is next to impossible. But it all depends on your business. In your niche market, you may still work it out.

* Descriptive

 

A good name should describe exactly what the site is about so that surfers can easily make a decision when they see your site name at search engines.

A descriptive name is also easier to market and be remembered as a brand name. Of course, many companies have succeeded using a non-descriptive name like Yahoo. But how did they make these names successful? Through huge marketing campaigns designed to establish brand awareness. Surely it's better to have an instantly recognizable name than to spend millions to tell people what you do!

* Keywords

A keyword-rich name is much easier to get higher positions at search engines. It's possible for a name to get into top 10 without other optimizations for search engine in a niche market.

Of course, keyword-rich also helps to be descriptive.

You may have noticed that my domain name Working-At-Home-Business.com is a .com, descriptive and keyword-rich. But it's super long. It's really hard to find any meaningful two-word combination of Internet, marketing, online, money, business and so forth. So I decided just to make it keyword-rich and descriptive.

Where to register your domain name has nothing much to do with where you host your site. So shop around for a good price. Just make sure you can easily change DNS (Domain Name Server) record and point to your web host. Most domain name registration providers allow you do it in a control panel.

Currently, you can get a .com domain for about $8-10. Just type in "domain name registration" in any search engine, lots of providers will pop up. Among them, GoDaddy.com might be the cheapest, $7.75. Their customer support is not that good though.

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What To Look For In A Web Host?

 

So, you've registered your own domain name and now it's time to pick a hosting service.

But where do you start? If you check the listings and ads, you’ll see services with monthly fees ranging from $3.95 to $395. Some hosting companies even offer to host your site for free, but you'll have to let them slap ads on your page.

Most hosting companies provide a range of services, starting with low-budget packages and moving up to more advanced, expensive features. Obviously, when you pick a hosting plan, you need to make sure it provides enough disk space for your site at a price within your budget. But what else should you watch for? At the very least, consider the following points.

* Usage Limitations

Most hosting plans limit how much data you can transfer to and from the servers in a month. It's also called bandwidth. Once you reach 1GB or 2GB of data transfer, most companies charge you by the megabyte for any additional traffic.
How many bandwidth do you need? That depends. Even fairly busy sites that average more than a hundred visitors a day transfer less than 500MB a month. However, if you provide a three-minute MP3 file or a short video clip for visitors to download, your site will soon break the bandwidth barrier.

If you have some idea of your anticipated traffic, pick a plan accordingly. If not, estimate and watch your usage carefully for the first few months.

 

For most general information sites, 20MB storage space with 2GB bandwidth should be ok.

 

* Script And Extra Features

If your web site uses or will soon use SQL databases, CGI scripts, FrontPage extensions, SSI (Server Side Includes), ASP (Active Server Pages)... you'll need a hosting plan that supports these extras. These sorts of higher-end development tools may or may not come standard.

At the very least, make sure you have your own cgi-bin and SSI capabilities. Even if you hate technical stuff, you will need them.

Some hosting companies offer you more extra features such as mailing list management programs, autoresponders, search engine submission, sub domains...which will be handy sometimes. But you may find later that these tools are not up to the standard you need.

For example, autoresponders provided by hosting services will only send a one-time response to subscribers which is far less than what you actually need. You need to send at least 7 sequential emails to visitors.

* File Transfer Options

You'll need to upload your site from your local machine to the server it lives on, look for a host that allows unlimited FTP uploads to get your site online. If you prefer using FrontPage or a web interface for uploading files, make sure your service provider supports it.

You may want people to be able to download files directly from your site. Make sure you are allowed to do that and check what file formats are allowed.

If you intend to broadcast streaming media from your site, say Realplayer videos, make sure that your hosting plan will allow for it. Some hosting companies charge a small extra fee for streaming media while some don't support it at all.

* Mail Options

How much e-mail accounts will you need for your domain? Estimate the number of mailboxes you want. You might pick one for each employee, if you have any. If you are running a one man show like me, you should add some for functions such as sales, info, support, feedback, besides the most important one, webmaster.
Another must-have is catch-all capability so that you won't miss any email sent to your domain. Also, look into forwarding options so that you can relay messages to an established mailbox.

Take into account how you want to receive the emails. For example, if you want to be able to use your favorite email software, such as Microsoft Outlook, you'll want POP3 access. However, look into web based email if you want to be able to check your messages from any computer when you're not in office.

* Site Statistics

 

Once you get the site off the ground, you need web site statistic tools so that you can evaluate traffic and plan future site development.

If you know which pages are the most popular, you'll know by default what your visitors are looking for. If you know which browsers they use, you'll make sure your pages look good in those browsers. And, most important, you want to know how your visitors got to your site in the first place so that you can concentrate your marketing efforts.

Most hosts provide statistical analysis package for reporting on traffic such as Analog, Getstats, Webalizer.

You also want access to raw server logs so that you can run all sorts of numbers using your own statistical software. If your host doesn't provide access to raw log file, just walk away.

* How's The Tech Support?

 

Check out the host's service policy at its site, but remember: support packages aren't always as good as they sound.

Unlike many other services you use online where you can operate smoothly without any help, you WILL need tech support from your host sooner or later. Even if you are a Ph.D. in computer science, you still can't activate or install certain features from your local machine.

So make sure the support staffs are there, ready to fix your problem, whenever you need them. 24-hour phone-support is preferred. Call or email them before you sign up.

 

* Is The Service Reliable?

You can't judge a host merely by its feature list. The best insight you'll get into your prospective web host is unedited customer feedback. Check out online forums for comments about a host's performance.

Many gripes may come from customers who are biased or more demanding than you are, so read the reactions to any complaints as closely as the original remarks themselves.
If a host lists any customers with sites that are similar to yours, check them out at key times of day to see how quickly they load or whether they seem sluggish or unresponsive.

* If You Back Out, Will It Cost You?

Before you sign up, find out if you are free to choose another web host if this one doesn't work out. So long as your name is listed as the "Administrative Contact" with InterNIC, you can transfer your site to another host: just go to your registrar and enter new DNS (Domain Name Server) address.

That's why I suggest you register your domain at another domain registrar separately instead of from your host. If your host administers your domain, it has little incentive to play along and may actually charge you for domain-related transactions.

Many hosts offer 15 or 30 days money-back guarantee, if you are not happy with them, you can switch to another one and get your money back.

 

Look for plans with free setup too so that you can test your site before your payments start rolling in.

 

* What Should You Expect To Pay?

The best advice is to know the services you really need, and only pay for those. For example, a typical small business web site with less than one hundred pages can find good hosting package with cgi-bin access, free setup, multiple email account and aliases, SSI, raw logs access, for $10-25 per month.

If you need SSL Security, expect to pay $15-35 more per month.

Finding a good host is not always easy. Now at least you know what you should look for while shopping around. Based on my own experience, I highly recommend these two hosts:

Adgrafix: Top-notch hosting service, $19.95-199, the web host I have had the best experiences with and they have excellent tech support.

 

iPowerWeb: 500MB storage, 30GB bandwidth, reliable, everything you will ever need for $7.95/month. Free domain name. Really a good deal. Highly recommend.

If you want to try out free hosting without forced ads, Portland is one of the best. They can host your own domain with 500MB bandwidth for free and offers enough features including cgi-bin and SSI. I use it to test my site and scripts before I complete everything. But expect some down time and poor support.

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How To Write Sales Copy That Is Proven To Sell

A stable and well-designed web site is a very important part of online business. However, without effective sales copy your web site is useless. Words make sales, not fancy web sites.

Your words are the entire foundation of your business. Your product, your web site and your marketing strategies all depend on your words. You must learn how to write persuasive sales copy that is proven to sell.

* Highlight The Most Important Benefit Right Up Front

 

Start by choosing a single benefit of your product or service that you wish to highlight above everything else. This is your "principle selling position".

 

Put yourself in the customer's shoes and ask yourself what the customer will really go for. Ask yourself what specific benefit makes your offer different, better, or special.

 

The first few paragraphs are particularly important. Use them to create a desire for your product or service by briefly touching on the major benefit it will bring the customer.

 

You don't have to go into too much detail up front as you can expand on these benefits later.

 

* Use Headlines And Bullet Lists

 

Reading from the screen puts extra strain on the eyes. Use visual tricks to make reading easy.

Write attention-grabbing headlines. Headline is the most important part of your entire sales copy. If it doesn't grab your potential customer's attention, they won't bother to read the rest of your letter.

Your headline will often emphasize your most important benefits and should be displayed in a larger bold font and demand your potential customer's attention to intrigue them to read on.

Use headlines throughout your copy to capture the attention of those who just scan your text. Use subheadings to provide highlights of each section of your sales copy.

 

And use bulleted lists when describing product features.

 

* Stress Benefits

 

Stress Benefits!

 

Whatever you do, don't put you mission statement on your homepage. We just don't care.

 

People want benefits! What can your product do for me? Right now!

Can it make me rich? Can it save me time?
Can it entertain me?
Can it make me feel better about myself?

That's what people want. Your product's greatest benefit should be right in the top header in bold red letters. Your first three or four words should hit them between the eyes.

You have to know the difference between features and benefits. For example, don't just say that your computer is fast (that's a feature), tell your customer that it will give them more free time - a benefit. Better still, paint a picture of them using their free time to go to the beach, read a book, or relax.

Write a list of all the features of your product or service then translate each of these into a benefit for the customer. Look at each feature then ask yourself "So what?"

 

Imagine you're a customer, why should you care about this feature? Ask yourself, "What will it do for me?"

 

* Establish Trust

On the Internet you don't have the advantage of speaking face to face with your customer. They don't know whom they're going to give their personal information to. They have seen lots of scams. So you have to load as much credibility into your words as possible.

Offer a free trial, a money-back guarantee, testimonials, put your e-mail address, physical address and phone number at the bottom of every page, place a small photograph of yourself etc.

You must completely remove their risk. Provide your potential customers with a solid, no risk, no question asked, money back guarantee. This will put their mind at ease by building their confidence in you and your product.

And stick to that guarantee!

 

* Testimonials Sell

Good, believable testimonials from real people will help sales, particularly on the web where establishing credibility is a tough job. For even better credibility, ask your testimonial writers if you can include their contact details along with their testimonial.

* Write In A Natural Style

Just write it the way you'd say it. Direct your words towards one specific person. Use words like "you" and "your" rather than "them" or "their". Write as if you are speaking with just one person - one on one.
Don't use overcomplicated, or unnecessarily formal language that can either totally confuse visitors or just put them to sleep. Either way it loses the customer, and loses you the sale.

Don't say "in our considered opinion" or "enclosed please find..." Simplify these into everyday language. Write how you would speak: "we think" and "here is," are much better choices.

* Call For Action

Tell the visitors what to do clearly. For example, "Call now" or "Click here to order now for immediate delivery", or "Sign up for our newsletter now". Don't let your potential customers guess how or where to order.

Ask for the order and provide an easy order process. Needless to say, ordering details must be clearly visible and simple to follow.

 

* Create Urgency

Throw in something special for the first 100 subscribers or make it "this month only". Offer a "limited time" price. The goal is to make visitors act now. Once they leave, they will forget you and your product. The possibility of a visitor looking for your particular web site on the huge Internet is slim.

Your word selection is important here. Don't say "Subscribe now!". Put a specific time limit to it - "Subscribe in Nov and I'll throw in... ".

 

Then stick to that limit.

 

* Put a P.S.

Close your sales copy with a P.S. (PostScript). When your visitor scans your sales message, chances are, they'll read your headlines, subheadings and your P.S. message. Some people read the P.S. first.

Place your most important benefits within your P.S. message. Use it to add a special bonus. Include a time limit to get the good deal. It will get read.

 

In summary, every word, sentence and headline should have one specific purpose - to lead your potential customer to your order page.

Write your words so that they seamlessly flow together from your beginning headline through to your order page. Pack your copy with all of the benefits your product has to offer and keep it simple.

No time to write? Check out this amazing tool Instant Sales Letters. It will quickly and easily create a sales letter guaranteed to sell your product or services - Without Writing. Just fill in a few blanks and presto, you have a winning sales letter in minutes, instead of weeks.
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In next lesson you will learn:

• How to process credit card payment
• Order fulfillment
• Traffic analysis and ads tracking
• Opt-in mailing list
• Build up your sales force

Cheers!

Zac Hewlett
Webmaster
Working At Home Business
http://www.working-at-home-business.com